Tofu Shepherds's Pie with a bite taken out of it - I guess you're not supposed to sample before taking the picture... :)

I haven't posted in the Chatterbox - or done much of anything with this site - for a long time because I've been a bit preoccupied with my health since December 2015. I'm perfectly okay, but for a while there I wasn't sure...

A whole lot of weird stuff was going on, but the main symptom was constant, sometimes very severe, abdominal cramping. For some reason, possibly because I was at the tail end of menopause, my doctor assumed it was a gynecological problem. Even after a lot of blood tests and imaging (MRI machines are COOL, by the way!), my GYN could not figure out what was wrong - she said I definitely did NOT have cancer, thank goodness, but the pain continued... finally she strongly suggested that I get a hysterectomy, just in case. :(

I was desperate enough to just go in and get 'er done, but luckily, my wonderful, brilliant hubby put the brakes on things... he was not convinced that a hysterectomy would actually stop the pain, especially since nobody had any idea what was causing it. He did some research and discovered that some women develop IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) during menopause: Apparently estrogen and progesterone are involved with helping things move along properly in our intestines, among many other things (they're busy little hormones!), so after menopause, the female digestive system can kind of go kablooey (how's that for medical terminology?).

He also discovered that the diagnosis was pretty straight-forward: An Elimination Diet. So I put the hysterectomy on hold and tried the diet - four days after giving up all kinds of yummy things, THE PAIN STOPPED!!!!!!!!

An Elimination Diet... it sounds so simple in theory... Anything that might irritate the digestive system is eliminated from the diet for four weeks. This includes known irritants like alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, chocolate, and high "FODMAP" foods. "FODMAP" is an acronym that stands for: "Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols" - basically starches that are found in certain foods. After a month of avoiding such items, one food type at a time is added back in. My job is to carefully monitor my symptoms, to see how my belly reacts.

However, many of my favorite foods are forbidden on an elimination diet, at least for the trial month, and maybe even forever: No more dark chocolate! No more whole wheat spaghetti or bread! No more dairy products (except for small amounts of hard cheese)! No more wine or beer! No more coffee! No more soda! No more onions or garlic (though garlic oil is okay)! No more apples! No more cabbage or broccoli or cauliflower! No more butter! No more beans or soy products (except for firm tofu)! Since I'm a vegetarian, the last elimination hurt the most...

Once I got over feeling sorry for myself, I began to treat my restrictive diet as a sort of private "Iron Chef" competition. I got through caffeine withdrawal, and decided I was better off without it - anything that can cause that much suffering if dropped is not worth consuming! I even began to get to the point where I wasn't missing chocolate (as much). I started searching the 'net for recipes, and my hubby helpfully tracked down recipes as well - he bought me four pounds of brown rice flour to get me started, and I started figuring out how to make things that I would enjoy eating... and I began to realize that this diet wasn't really as restrictive as I thought it would be.

I couldn't have Morningstar burger crumbles anymore (they're made of soy isolate) , so I learned how to make Tofu Crumbles that I could use in spaghetti sauce or Shepherd's pie. I learned how to make popovers and potato biscuits using a blend of brown rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, and xanthan gum. I began to get excited about cooking again! :) I later discovered that xanthan gum stirs up my digestive system, too, but I also learned that ground flax seeds make a good substitution for the gum... I couldn't have whole wheat spaghetti any more, but I COULD have quinoa-corn spaghetti - almost as good as the "real thing!"

This has been going on since October - the "reintroduction phase" is going very slowly, because when a trial food causes issues, I need to wait for things to calm down again before trying something else. So far I've discovered that I can't drink beer, but I CAN drink wine. I can't eat wheat, but oats, rice, and quinoa are all fine. I can't drink milk or soy milk, but almond milk is okay. I can't eat green peppers, but I can gobble roasted red peppers with abandon (within reason!). I can't eat beans, unfortunately, and that IS a big issue since I don't eat meat. My hubby keeps teasing me that I have to eat chicken now, but it won't come to that! :) After the bean failure, I made an appointment with the doctor, so further food tests are on hiatus at the moment - in a week or so, if the doctor okays it, I'll give tempeh and seitan a try (VERY good vegetarian protein sources!).

At any rate, I also learned that I'm not alone: Apparently about 15% of my fellow Americans are dealing with IBS. There are many, many web sites with lots of helpful information and LOTS of yummy recipes! If it turns out that the doctors can't cure me, and I'm stuck with the IBS, I can still be happy! Plus I'm having a lot of fun coming up with creative new ways to eat! :)

Here are some of the recipes I've tried (and loved!). You don't have to have digestive problems to enjoy them!

How to make a Gluten-Free Flour Mix - My favorite combination is: One and a half cups of brown rice flour, one and a half cups of oat flour (take some oatmeal and whiz it through the blender to make oat flour), one cup of white rice flour, and half a cup of potato starch. (off-site)

The zucchini are doing extremely well, so I've been hunting down recipes. I had zucchini for breakfast today, and will have some for lunch and maybe dinner, too! I'll post any good recipes I find (I just posted a recipe for Baked Zucchini Fritters yesterday); I hope you folks can help me out!

I've been inching up my courage to write and post my first “real” Chatterbox post... so here goes!

I love to read, and I love to cook, too; and I REALLY love to read cookbooks. Here are a few of my favorites – please click the “Comments” link above or below to share your own favorite cookbooks!The Bean Bible: A Legumaniac's Guide to Lentils, Peas, and Every Edible Bean on the Planet!, by Aliza Green – Everything you ever thought you'd ever want to know about legumes - plus lot of stuff you've probably never even THOUGHT to think! :) This book is like an encyclopedia of all-things-bean. The recipes are a bit fancier than I'd be inclined to use (some use ingredients like truffles and caviar), though I've found them to be good for inspiration. I especially enjoy Ms. Green's history of legume consumption - did you know that several famous Roman personages were named for beans? I also enjoyed her exhaustive descriptions of scores of different kinds of legumes... I'm thinking that scarlet runner beans might be a good addition to the garden this year, both for eye appeal and for later munching (see what I mean about inspiration?).

Fava (aka Faba) Beans, for which General Quintus Fabius Maximus was named (that's him on the right)

Good Food Book: Living the High-carbohydrate Way, by Jane Brody – A good, basic cookbook. Peter's grandfather gave me a copy when we were first married, and I've put it to hard use ever since – the pages are beginning to fall out, but it's still one of my favorites. Ms. Brody was/is a strong advocate for healthy AND delicious food, with emphasis on high quality, fiber-filled carbohydrates; in this cookbook she describes how one can eat healthily without resorting to consumption of hay and twigs. She basically converts “normal” favorites” to high fiber, low-fat foods. The recipes aren't all vegetarian, but can easily be adapted to meatless cuisine. One of my favorite recipes from this book is “Cocktail Knishes,” cute, little carb bombs of tasty dough with a mashed potato or bulgur wheat filling. Link: http://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_3/2006/MAR/10068.html

The Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker – My mother-in-law gave me a copy of the 40th anniversary edition shortly after Peter and I were married. I love this book! Besides the recipes, Ms. Rombauer and Ms. Becker explain basic ingredients and methods. This book taught me how to set a table properly (though I must admit that I have to look it up again every time it's necessary to be “proper” at dinnertime) and how to bake a basic cake. They also include lots of information that I'm never likely to use, but is interesting to read about, like how to butcher and cook a bear or how to prepare an “Eskimo frozen dinner” (''Kill and gut a medium-sized walrus. Net several flocks of small migrating birds and remove one specific small feather from each wing feather from each wing. Store birds whole in interior of walrus. Sew up walrus and freeze. Two years or so later, find the cache - if you can - notify clan of a feast, partially thaw walrus. Slice and serve.”).

The Nero Wolfe Cookbook, by Rex Stout and the Editors of the Viking Press; Foreword by Fritz Brenner (a fantastic chef who lives in Mr. Stout's imagination)! Most of the recipes are too fancy to be practical, but I have a lot of fun reading and re-reading this book. I discovered Rex Stout's mystery novels in the mid '80's and have been hooked ever since. Nero Wolfe is a genius detective, who loves gourmet food (and weighs a seventh of a ton because of this love) – he has a live-in chef, Fritz Brenner. His “leg-man,” Archie Goodwin, isn't as devoted to his palate, but certainly appreciates Mr. Brenner's skills as well. This cookbook is filled with scrippets of Mr. Stout's “Nero Wolfe” books, followed by recipes for the many foods described in these novels. A lot of fun for Nero Wolfe fans!

Anything by Bert Greene! (Bert Greene's Kitchen Bouquets, Greene on Greens, The Grains Cookbook, The Store Cookbook, Honest American Fare, Cooking for Giving) – I love all of his books. Mr. Greene was a gentleman who enjoyed cooking, life, and people; he wrote about all of these things in such an addictive, cheerfully conversational way, that I read his cookbooks over and over, strictly for entertainment! Reading his books is somewhat akin to attending a boisterous family reunion – even if you don't know anyone when you first arrive at the party, you will soon know everyone's life history! Mr. Greene knows how to make his guests comfortable – and highly entertained to boot!!

I guess that's enough from me. :) Please post any favorites you'd like to share!

If anyone would like to post a guest Chatterbox column, just let me know! I like to think that I'm not the only big-mouth in the family! :)

Welcome to the Food & Cheer & Song web-based cookbook! The title is based on a quote from The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." I think that this is very true... I originally planned to give this site the rather uninspiring name, "Family Web Cookbook." But then I thought about why I wanted to do this. Our family tends to use food to express love for each other and our friends. One of the recipes I will be posting someday soon is for Great-Great Aunt Catherine's pecan balls; she used to give these cookies to family members, and they are remembered by all of us with great fondness. I make up a big batch of these cookies for family and friends every Christmas, and it makes me feel good to be passing them on to new generations; and it makes me feel that Aunt Catherine's memory will live on for future generations.

So I tried to come up with a better name for this site, and typed "Food, Love, Song" into Google; and up popped this quote from The Hobbit. The Hobbit has always been my favorite all-time book, and I realized that "Food & Cheer & Song" was the perfect name for this site!

Please feel free to contribute comments, suggestions, constructive criticism, ideas, recipes, and photographs. I plan to write blogs on a variety of topics in the future, including favorite cookbooks, dieting, and gardening. I hope that this page will be more than a repository of my own thoughts - I would like it to become a conversation! So please let me know if there is anything that you would like to see discussed on the Chatterbox page.

Enjoy the site. :)

To leave a comment, please click on one of the "Comments" links, located at the top and bottom of this post.

Detail from the cover of "The Hobbit, Volume I," adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's original work by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Chuck Wenzel.